Caught In The Crossfire
by EmilyTheStrange1
Summary: When she returned to the Outlands, the last thing she expected to encounter were scourge. A deal has been struck between the Lich King and Kil'jaedin, and the only one who can help save them from it has been consumed by madness. OCXOC
1. Returning

The pale blue light of morning had just begun to creep over the walls of Shattrah city, slowly bringing warmth back to it's crumbling stone. She moved toward the city, inhaling the air, thick with mist from the ever flowing water atop the Aldor Rise. It was good to be back.

She took slow steps toward her old spot on these walls, savoring the famillar sight before her. Sitting sat down on the edge, she picked up her old habit of watching as the refugee's below slowly awoke from their camps in the lower city, ready to start a new day.

The small brown sack she pulled in front of her contained only a small portion of the rations that were left from her journey back. Her stomach reacted to the sight of the bread she pulled from it, giving a rather large growl before she ripped into the food eagerly with her teeth.

She immediately cringed at the stale taste it left in her mouth afterward. Tossing the bread aside, she wondered if the food here was still as good as she remembered it to be. But the lightness of the coin pouch at her side was a reminder that there was still much to be done before that time. To her, Northrend's supposed benefits had left something to be desired.

Pulling herself from the thoughts of her painful lack of wealth, she turned her attention to the city. The beacon of light from A'dal still shone through the sky, bathing the city in an almost unsettling calm. Enchanted lifts moved effortlessly as a transport to both the rise, and the tier. The Lower City seemed to have prospered tremendously in her abscence, the sheltering of the refugee's was more throughly patched, and the roads better paved. More stands stood next to the old ones she knew. Her eyes fell upon Griftah's place with a look of distaste. It seemed that troll was still up to no good.

Although the state of the city was better than when she'd departed from it, the lack of adventurer's made it seem a little emptier than before.

A small smile came to her face, this didn't bother her at all. If there was one thing she hated, it was crowds. It had been her mistake to think Shattrah had been the worst of it. When she'd arrived in Dalaran, the mere sight of all those people nearly sent her into full blown panic.

The only reason she'd traveled to Northrend in the first place was the promise of money, and that was far from the truth. What they cared about, and what she needed were two very different things. She was used to being a mercenary, not a solider. _'Those days are long gone.'_ She thought bitterly. A few battles were fought, but the rewards were too few, so she'd returned back to the Eastern Kingdoms with empty hands.

_'It was full of fools anyway, looking for fame and fortune. A name for themselves. A lot of good those do you.'_ She scoffed, reaching down for her hipflask, only to curse when she met air in the space it had once occupied. The flask had gotten lost it somewhere in the bogs of Zangarmarsh while she was trying to outrun those damned Naga. It had been an ambush, and a well thought out one at that. In the end, their overwhelming numbers had thwarted her plan of ridding herself of them the old fashion way, though she took pride in the fact that she managed to take a few down before fleeing.

As her stomach gave another growl, her thoughts traveled back to the sack in front of her and the apple she'd packed along with the bread. Hopefully it would be in better condition than the former. She discovered the apple had suffered the same fate as her bread, it's bruised skin oozed fluid, clearly on it's way to rotting. It was glared at it for a few moments before she turned and threw it behind her somewhere into the forest. Her stomach protested her actions.

She sighed, trying to ignore the ache in her throat, begging for the comfort of the alcohol in her missing hipflask. Things might have at least been a bit more tolerable for her then. The Naga had become even more unruly with the fall of their commander, Lady Vashj, and their desperation had become her misfortune.

Her brow furrowed. Now that she thought of it, very few things had been accomplished here in the Outlands. Most of their former leaders may have fallen, but the burden of what happened afterward fell on the shoulders of those that stayed. The city's improving state showed much progress, and yet, she doubted they were able to completely stand on their own two feet again...or hooves, whichever of the two that they had.

But not all of the old threats had gone, she could still feel some of the lingering fear and anger here, despite the peace A'dal's light gave off. Last she'd heard of, Illidan Stormrage still remained in the Black Temple. The final attempt on his life ended in the deaths of Akama, and Maiev Shadowsong, along with many of the adventurer's who assisted them, and only a few of those made it back to speak of it. If you could call it speaking that is, some rambled on, muttering to themselves, and others refusing to speak of it at all. Nobody is still quite sure what happened, or what went wrong, but after rumors of how brutally the raid was slaughtered spread, none dared to set foot in the temple again.

Soon after, suspicions of Kael'thas' alliegance came to light, and the Scryers were formed in Shattrah. An attempt to stop him was also made, but it seems that 'Prince' Kael'thas Sunstrider had somehow gotten wind of their plans, and fled from Temptest Keep. He was pronounced missing. She recalled avoiding the Scryers Tier for quite some time after that, the aura exuding from every bloodelf there had been absolutely venomous. Some speculate he went off to join the Burning Legion, lured by promises of power, but where the treacherous prince had ended up was still anyone's guess. She could care less about it honestly, though her hope was that he'd skipped off in his pretty little robes and found himself a very, very, very high cliff, then threw himself to a pit of demons that devoured him very, very, very slowly...but that was probably asking too much.

The sound of loud yawning behind her pulled her away from her musings. Her hands instinctively snapped to her daggers as she quietly stood up, ready to face this possible attacker. Although the blatant approach gave her a good clue as to who it was already, (you really couldn't get much worse than this unless you were yelling 'I'm here!' at her), she wasn't one for taking chances. _"You're awake already, Evencar?"_ Her jaw clenched as she waited, tightening her grip on the weapons at her side.

_"Not because I want to be." _An annoyed grunt followed the response.

She turned around. A nightelf male stood groggily before her, staring through half-lidded amber eyes, glowing faintly as he stood beneath the shadowy boughs of the forest bordering Shattrah. Disheveled midnight blue hair, hung loosely from it's ponytailed style. Even in his half asleep state, she watched his eyes travel down nervously to the weapons in her grip.

_"Calm down Eilya, it's just me, Evencar." _A bit of sympathy came over her as he brought his hands up in defense, assuming she would attack him at any moment. But if he kept this up, it was a strong possibility.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she growled out her words. _"How many times do I have to tell you to approach me where I can see you coming?' _ She watched him flinch._ 'One of these days i'm just going to take you for an enemy, maybe then what I say will actually sink in that head of yours." _Eilya lowered her hands from her daggers, a sigh escaping her lips as she briefly recalled the rogue instructor at the Worlds End Tavern, and their pleasant conversation about dealing with those who didn't listen. Was she still here as well? Perhaps she had finally reopened her school...

_'Um, Eilya?' _The sudden sound caught her off guard, causing her to react in the way she would have normally. Her right arm shot out, fingers curling into a fist that connected with Evencar's nose. It gave a sickening crunch beneath her knuckles, while the force of the blow made him stagger back and away from her.

Unphased, Evencar now stood a few feet away, covering the lower half of his face. _"Well, a' leas I gah your attehshion."_ Eilya ran her hand through her dark blue hair in frustration. She was convinced she would never understand his more than self destructive methods of getting this 'attention' from her, much less the man in general. He just didn't seem to comprehend what her being a rogue meant for him. The paranoia, quick reflexes, and ability to kill someone without thinking twice of it were all part of who she was. As a mercenary, they were often priceless skills that had saved her skin more than once. Around other people however, these skills were a troublesome burdern, she had to restrain herself almost every time someone managed to anger her. It was all too easy to fall into that mindset. But surprisingly, the fact that she could end his life at any time, accidently or...otherwise, didn't seem to cross his mind, carrying around a carefree attitude that more than irked her at times.

But she couldn't really blame him. He was inexperienced of course, considering how young he was, a couple of thousand years old at the most. It may have seemed surprising to anyone but another nightelf, most people never knew that quite a few of them never left the forests at all, content with living their lives among their own kind. Cushioned by ignorance, and then quickly blindsided by the dangers of the world when, and if the time came where their people needed them. Those types were the first to die in battle, their stupidity making them standing out like a sore thumb, an easy target for any enemy.

Eilya's hand parted from her face just in time to see him pull a slick, blood covered hand away from his own. The blood was pouring from his nose at an alarming rate, although the swelling made it hard to tell whether or not for certain she'd broken it. He watched with an alarmed expression as the crimson drops stained the grass beneath him, the reality of the situation finally sinking in.

The fact that the sun had finally risen in the sky did not make things better, in fact, it only made the injury look more gruesome by the second. The idiot would bleed to death soon if he kept standing there, and that was one death she didn't want on her hands. She walked over, harshly grabbing the wrist of the hand he didn't manage to coat in blood, and yanked him in the direction of the city. Eilya silently hoped that the priests rose early here, because he would most likely need to have his nose checked. She thought for a second. _'And his ears while we're at it.'_

He didn't fight her as she dragged him towards one of the city entrances, and as she turned her head back towards him she saw him looking past her, observing the city with a curious expression. _"So dis ish Shattwah. Ish beuteeful."_ He was so enthralled by this, he didn't notice the faint light coming from her hand as she subtley placed it near his nose to 'inspect' the damage more.

Turning back again to look at the city, Eilya couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of it, standing strong despite all it's hardships. It reminded her a bit of herself. _"Yes, this is Shattrah, and it is."_ She let go of his wrist. _"Follow me."_

She heard him make an incredulous sound from behind her. _"Ey, did my no's top bwedding?"_

* * *

I strive to get better in my writing, if you have any criticism, please put it in a review so I can improve my writing skills. :)


	2. The Search

They walked briskly through the lower city in search of a healer, but she noticed it didn't take long to start drawing the attention's of those that saw them. She tuned out the whispering that began to accumulate around them, it was all useless chatter to her. _"I'll bet it t'was a love quarell."_ A dwarf refugee chuckled to another while walking by. She shook her head inwardly at this. Such a suggestion was laughable, Evencar was by no means a potential mate, some may have viewed his naivety as sweet or endearing, but to her it was only a hinderance.

She didn't have time for such thoughts, not when most of them consisted of where their next meal was coming from. Eilya glanced over at a group of heavily scarred orcs talking to each other, they were obviously unconcerned with something as simple as a broken nose, not even bothering to look at them. Battle scars and wounds were anything but uncommon amongst soliders and adventurer's, each one always had a story to tell about them, and she found she'd quickly tired of them.

Evencar didn't have many himself, except counting the few she'd given him during his training sessions with her. But never once did she hear him complain. Whether she sliced open his arm, or ripped a tear in his long ears, he remained silent, focused only on what she had to teach him in that moment. These qualities mildly impressed her. He showed a promise that interested her enough to put up with him and his antics, at least for now.

Evencar walked in a guilty silence beside her, careful not to make the mistake of walking behind her again. His head was turned away from hers, avoiding her eyes. It was most likely from eitheir the embarassment of what he'd done, or fear of further scorn.

The Orphan Matron's eyes burned with a maternal fierceness, watching them carefully as they walked passed the childern playing outside the Orphanage who had stopped to watch them, whispering amongst each other. A small bloodelf boy broke apart from the group, coming up to walk alongside Evencar, and asked the first question the others did not have the courage or care to ask. _"Hey mister, what happened to your nose?" _She raised an eyebrow in amusement as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking for a way to explain his mishap.

_"Well,"_ He started. _"...you see tha' nigh'elf der?"_ The boy nodded his head. Evencar smiled down at him. _"I 'aved er from a bun' a Naga." _She bit her tongue as he tried to save his pride by wounding hers. _"Really!? How many were there!?"_ Chattering excitedly, his bright green eyes widened in amazement. Evencar's smile stretched into a grin as he countinued his story. _"L'as of dem. Mo' den all af you.' _He pointed to the childern gatherering around him, curiousity finally getting the best of them. _"Dey a'd er orned, s'e wa lucky I 'erd 'er call fer elp."_ Somehow, they all understood this spew of broken words, each gasping in terror.

_"D-did they hurt you, miss?" _A human girl squeaked out in concern. Eilya went to open her mouth to protest these accusations, but the words wouldn't come out. As she looked at the growing concern of the childern, and the pleading eyes of Evencar, her heart softened. She swallowed her pride as she uttered the words: _"No, he got there just in time."_ Their worry vanished, and smiles returned to their faces.

She saw Evencar silently thank her, casting her an apologetic smile as he looked down again at the kids. _" 'up, jus a' dey were abou' ta bring der 'ords dow on er, I 'hot a arrow a' dem ta ge der atte'shion."_ He pointed to the bow in the quiver strapped to his back, the childern full of excitement, begged to see it. Evencar obliged happily, flashily taking it from it's storage while striking a pose, pulling on the string to mimick his heroic act.

She noticed the Worlds End Tavern as they walked by, and gazed longingly at it. After this, she would definetly need a drink...

A large flash of white suddenly knocked Evencar to the ground, the childern managing to move out of harms way at the last moment. The Orphanage Matron, who had been quietly tailing them clutched a hand to her chest, shrieking in a thick troll accent: _"Wha' in de' Outlands is dat ting!?"_ Said 'thing' barked with happiness and began licking Evencar's face...with both it's heads. The hunter only laughed. _"Dun urry, dis ish fre'ger and ya'eck, e's my pet." _Eilya quickly backed away from it, wary of it's affections.

He pushed Fregear and Yareck off of him, and sat up, petting the creature as drool ran from it's fanged mouth. She stared. The Kurken had once been a fierce monster, a snarling mass of white fur and sharp teeth to all who approached it. They had been sent to slay it and return with it's hide, but instead, Evencar ended up taming the beast. For him, it started as revenge for certain actions against him, but after a time she saw him grow attached to it and vice versa. While still dangerous, The Kurken was now only so to those it's master fought.

_"We need to find you a healer, we don't have time for games!" _The annoyance rang clear in her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. The same human girl from before cautiously approached her. _"You need a healer miss? I know exactly where one is."_ A sheepish look came over her. "_I fall down alot."_ She explained. Eilya nodded, finally, a break.

_"My name is Sarah. Come on, i'll show you where one is." _She reached out her hand, but Eilya quickly declined it wanting to get this whole ordeal over with. Evencar shot her a sour look as he stood up, clearly not understanding why she wouldn't take the girl's hand. Meanwhile, Eilya felt the poisin burning into hers, having shattered a small vial of it unexpectedly in her left hand earlier that morning while Evencar had been sleeping. Though washing it off in the stream had gotten most of it, the damage was done. She'd bought the vials off a shady dealer outside of Honor Hold, something seemed off, but the price had been too good to didn't last forever when you carried poisin around in them.

She'd at least been lucky that this particular poisin was only meant to burn, and not seep into the bloodstream and destroy her from the inside out. Eilya hid her pain behind a mask of indifference, following behind Evencar who was being dragged along by the human girl, Sarah. She heard the Matron shoo all the other childern back to the orphanage. _"You bes' be gettin' back to de O'phanage, unles' you don' be wantin' your suppah dis evenin'."_ The troll let out a gruff laugh. _"You children be mo' trouble den ya worth."_

As they came up to the building she led them to, it took Eilya a moment to realize that what she was staring at used to be the old infirmary in Shattrah. She barely recognized it. The walls had been rebuilt, it was no longer a giant gap which allowed you to see the rest of the city from your sick bed. Beautiful purple banners decorated the outside, and a curtain of the same color framed it's doorway. A boy spotted them, turning back to yell into the building. _"Hey ma, Sarah's hurt again!"_ Sarah let go of Evencar, putting her hands on her hips in defiance. _"Am not, Seth!"_ An older women came hurrying down the slope leading up to the infirmary, her face wrinkled in worry. _"Sarah's been hurt again? What did I tell you kids about playing those rough games!?"_

Sarah's face puckered._ "We're only having fun! Besides, it's not me that's hurt, it's him!"_ She pointed her finger at Evencar, whose nose had swelled considerably, and was beggining to turn a shade darker than his violet skin. Looking him up and down, she put a hand over her mouth. _"Oh my."_ The women quickly rushed over, and began trying to reach up to see if the blood caked to his face made the injury as horrific as it looked. Her arms barely reached his shoulders. _"Evencar."_ He looked toward her in confusion._ "W'at?" _Eilya rubbed her temple with her right hand. _"Bend down so she can reach your nose."_

He shook his head slightly. _"Right, sorry."_ He leaned down toward the women, wincing as she prodded at his nose gently. Sarah giggled. _"Is he going to be ok Miss Zahlia? He says he got hurt saving that lady from a bunch of Naga!" _ The boy looked at Evencar skeptically, and began shaking his head back and forth so fast that made Eilya dizzy. _"No way! He looks like a big wuss to me."_ His mother whipped her head back to scold him. _"Shush Seth, don't be so rude!" _She smiled up at Evencar. _"Well, it's not broken, but it could be fractured. I'll take you up to the infirmary to see the physician."_ Moving toward the clinic, she called back to Eilya. _"You might want to help steady him dear, he's probably disoriented from the blood loss."_

On cue, Evencar began to sway on his feet. Fregear and Yareck came up from behind him, each giving his hand a seperate lick before turning it's heads toward her. Eilya walked over to him, keeping an eye on his pet as she put her right arm around him, allowing him to lean his weight on her. As he did so, she was surprised at how light he was. Although they didn't eat much on their journey, it never occured to her it would affect him this much. A meal missed here or there was of no consequence to her, she'd gotten used to her rather gaunt figure. It was not something she was proud of, but with no money for food and a hunter that had rather poor aim at times, it was unavoidable. She made a mental note to make sure he ate extra the next time they got something to eat.

_"Don't pass out on me, I won't carry you."_ She felt him nod in reply as they took slow, careful steps up to the Infirmary.


	3. A Feeling

She watched Zahlia speak to a blond haired women, who from what she could see, was taking care of a goblin with a rather nasty bite on his arm. _"Mildred, could you take a look at this one when you're finished?"_ The women didn't turn away, immersed in her work. _"How bad is it?"_ She asked in a weary tone while dabbing ointment on the goblin's wound with wool cloth. Many other injured lay on the beds around them, excluding Evencar, who was sitting on his with a dazed expression, most likely a delayed reaction to the blood loss._ "Not too bad, his nose is a bit banged up and there was quite a bit of blood loss from what I see." _The other women nodded.

_"Have someone clean him up, I'll be over in a moment."_ Zahlia looked over to the other side of the room where a draneni was conversing with a bedridden dwarf, both chuckling heartily. _ "Cr-,cri-," _She stumbled over her words. The dwarf caught the older womens stuttering. _"I think she'll be needing your assistance, lassie." _The draneni stood up straight. _"What be it that you are needing of me?"_ A smile lit up her face as she trotted over to them. Short, straight black hair came down to the nape of her neck, their ends curving around the edges of her soft blue face, while the well polished horns she possessed curled down toward the floor.

Zahlia sniffed, picking a piece of wool cloth from a nearby basket. _"You draneni and your names, I swear. I can never pronounce any of them."_ Eilya watched with growing disinterest as water was poured into a small bowl from a jug sitting on a nearby table , and dumped unceremoniously into the draneni's hands. The older women jerked her head towards Evencar.

_"I need you to clean him up, and be quick about it."_ The draneni looked baffled. _"My name of birthing is Criinau, I do not be seeing how this speaking of is being so bad." _ Evencar turned his head up at Eilya with glassy eyes. _"Wha' ish s'e alking abou'?"_ She shrugged. Criinau laughed at him, awkwardly kneeling down beside the bed, dipping the wool cloth in the water from the bowl she'd tucked under one arm. _"Please be giving my apologies, common is not my good speaking of."_ Evencar shivered as she began cleaning his cheek. _"Ish 'old." _Criinau frowned._ "Wool is almost being very new, no old has it."_ He shook his head. _"'Wha'? O, I mee' ish 'old." _The draneni's lower lip jutted out. _"Do you not be hearing me very good nightelf? I be saying that there is being no older cloth!"_

Between the both of them, Eilya couldn't tell what was worse, their speech, or the fact that neitheir could understand one another. By the time his face was clean, the discussion had escalated into a full explanation of how they got their supply of wool, and the quality of it. It was at this time the physician had finished with her other patients, and strolled over. _"What's the problem here?"_ The draneni threw her hands up in frustration. _"This elf be keeping saying the wool that is being here is old. I try to be giving knowledge on how the wool is bringing here even, but no giving is he!" _The sound created as she stomped one of her dusty hooves on the stone beneath her was so loud, the rogue thought she could feel blood trickle out of her ears. _"I have not be having such bad timing since Altruis the paining!"_

Eilya's ears perked up, despite the ringing in them. _"Do you mean Altruis the Sufferer?"_ Criinau nodded._ "That is what I being said!"_ Mildred put a hand on the Draneni's shoulder. _"I think it's time for you to take a break, doesn't your pet Alazar need to be fed?"_ Seeming to forget all about her previous conversation, the draneni sprinted from the room, quickly thanking the women for 'be remembering' her. _" S'e 's ad."_ Evencar remarked as Mildred's fingers applied gentle pressure as they ran along the bridge of his nose. _"Yes, she's a bit odd, but she's also a big help around here. The building may have been fixed, but we're as understaffed as ever." _

While the physician did her work, (hearing Evencar curse once or twice), Eilya's mind wandered to thoughts of the demon hunter, Altruis. It seemed strange that he would be here in Shattrah, he didn't seem like the type to be around people for very long, or to be easily injured. The last time she'd met him, he'd been worried about an invasion in Nagrand.

She closed her eyes, pulling the memory from what seemed like a sea of them that had collected in her mind over thousands of years. Tossing one after another into it, until it seemed almost endless.

_"What do you see when you look to the west, rogue?"_ He had asked her. She observed the encampment, mounds of twisted steel layered each other, and bright green smoke rose to the skies. Closing her eyes, the smell of the blackened soil overwhelmed her, it's scent burning her nostrils as she took it in. _"I see twisted steel and smell sundered earth." _

_"Do you know what I see?" _Her silver eyes opened, watching him speak. _"A precursor to invasion." _ His bold statement made her curious, wondering what he had seen with his sight that she was not able to with her own. Eilya didn't know much about demon hunters, save that making pacts with darkness somehow gifted them with the convienent ability not to run into walls while blindfolded. _"I'd heard the portals had been closed."_

He nodded. _"Aye, the master was wise in sealing the portals, but he has since lost his...how shall I put this?"_ He paused for a moment before continuing. _"The master has lost his focus, yes focus."_ The two flickering gold lights that penetrated through the black cloth he wore seemed to suddenly vanish. They both stood in silence, reflecting on the weight of these words.

Apparently Illidan's sanity had not been far behind in the things he'd started to lose, though some would argue it had never been there to begin with. Eilya couldn't agree with this, not after having watched for ten thousand years as he began his descent into that terrible madness...

A pang of fear and regret shot through her as she struggled not to let her feet touch the waves of memories that lapped at the shores of her mind.

In the pit of her stomach she felt something wasn't right. Considering the fact demon hunters weren't exactly welcomed neitheir here nor in Azeroth, it was quite a brash step to make for no reason.If Altruis was here he wouldn't be looking for just anything, he would be looking for help. Help that couldn't be found by going to Telaar this time. "_Mildred."_ The women looked up at her. _"Do you know where Altruis is now?" _Eilya did her best to conceal the urgency in her voice. _"I believe he's at the tavern if i'm not mistaken."_ The women shook her blonde head, sighing. _"That man shouldn't be drinking! He slept for three days straight after arriving here complaining of being ill, and woke up just yesterday strolling out of here like nothing ever happened." _She clucked her tongue in dissaproval. _"Of course Criinau tried to stop him, but the man is stubborn. He should be grateful that he was able to get any assistance at all with all the trouble his kind have caused us."_

Eilya turned her gaze to Evencar who looked back at her with worry. _"Evencar, stay here. I'll only be gone for a while."_ He groaned at her feebly. _"Da's wha' 'ou a'ways 'ay." _It was true, she often told this to the younger nightelf to get some time to herself and a drink or two, but this time was different. Mildred pushed him back down as he tried, unsuccessfully, to stand up and follow her. This didn't seem to deter the hunter, who stood up again, trying to intimidate the human he easily towered over. The women got to her feet. At average human height, Mildred barely came up to his waist. But there she was, standing toe to toe with him, unyielding to his persistence. It was an amusing sight to behold. _"She said she'll be back, besides you aren't in any condition to be leaving yet. We'll be needing a healer for that nose, my bandaging can't fix a fracture." _There was a note in her voice that dared him to challenge her authority. Eilya smirked as he shrunk back, beaten at his own game. He slumped on the bed, watching as she left him to the mercy of his current caretaker. She walked away breathing a sigh of relief. One less thing she had to worry about for now.

It felt like an eternity; Eilya made her way to her destination, her desire for a drink rising. If she was being as idiotic as she thought she was, the worst that could happen was another hit to her already hurting pride, but if she was right... The sinking feeling in her stomach returned as she stepped into the tavern, her eyes searching for any sign of Altruis, secretly grateful that the bar was mostly empty around noon.

It didn't take her long to spy the figure sitting in the corner, the two warglaives resting by their side helped to wipe all doubts of the persons identity from her mind. After all, how many people went around carrying those types of weapons? Weaving around the tables, she approached him with caution. Altruis sat with his head down, looking to be lost in thought, a troubled expression gracing his features. His head remained down as she took another step toward him. _"Altruis."_ He looked up slowly. _"Yes." _She took a deep breath. _"My name is Eilya, we've met once before." _Altruis seemed unimpressed. _"I have met many people. What is it you want?"_ He covered his mouth, coughing violently. She waited till he'd stopped, and tried to be friendly. _"Do you mind if I ask what's troubling you?" _Altruis responded in an irritable tone, his voice gruff. _"Do you mind if I ask what exactly it is you're here for, rogue?"_ Eilya looked at him calmly. _"So you remember who I am." _He smiled bitterly at her, coughing into his hand once more. _"Don't flatter yourself, all rogues smell of blood." _She looked down at her right glove, coated in the dry blood of Evencar. Altruis quickly changed the subject back before she could defend herself. _"Why are you here?"_

She forced out the words that were caught in her throat. _"Because something is wrong."_

_"Very wrong, rogue."_ Her stomach turned.


End file.
